I have to be honest. Posting every day on just the topic of sewing is really starting to become difficult for me. I suppose that I could post about quilting or something, but I don’t know much about it so I’ve been side-stepping it. Part of the motivation for me to post every day was to post something that I was either interested in or had some experience doing. Or wanted to do. Unfortunately, at this point, quilting doesn’t fall into that category.

The other night as I was searching for one thing I suddenly thought, “I wonder if you can still get those t-shirt kits that we used in Home Ec class?” This is me in Seventh grade working on my t-shirt. This picture was in both our school newsletter AND the local paper. I was quite the celebrity 😉

I tried looking for a picture of me actually wearing the t-shirt that I made, but I couldn’t find one. I know that I wore it once in a while. It was made out of a fleece-type of cotton. Very similar to a cheap sweatshirt so it was a very warm t-shirt. I remember that we were given catalogs to look through and we could pick either a t-shirt, sweatshirt, or something else to sew. They all had to involve a pattern so that you could learn how to lay it out, cut the triangles in the fabric, and then have to correctly piece it together. If you chose a t-shirt you had the option of what color and what design. They were designed to have an image panel horizontally sandwiched between whatever color you chose. So when you cut out your material you had three pieces to sew together for the front and three pieces to sew together for the back. I chose a bright blue color and the image was that of a kitten. It was cute!

This is a Singer 6215C, which is very similar to the models we used. I’m not sure if it’s the exact one, but it’s close enough. For some reason this machine seemed so much easier to use than my mom’s Kenmore.

I’ve just had a thought… come with me on a little derailment for a moment…

Here is my current Singer. Perhaps that’s why I feel so comfortable with my machine… it’s VERY similar to the machines that we used in school. Very simple, not much to it, and easy to use. And as you can see from my picture up above I was happy while using it. I can’t say that’s always the case when I use my current machine….

The next year in Eighth grade we were allowed to choose to sew a tote bag, a pillow, or a locker organizer. As you can see, I chose the tote bag. We were allowed to pick what color bag and bottom that we wanted, and then you could pick whatever image they offered for your bag. Yikes. Now you guys know how old I am, if you didn’t already…

Every time I sew nylon straps onto a wing bag I always flash back to sewing the straps onto this bag. I don’t know why. This bag has really stood up well to the test of time that I have put it through. At least I still have it, unlike the t-shirt. In fact, this is one of my favorite bags. I just don’t use it very often if I have to go out in public because I really don’t want people knowing my age. I like to keep them guessing. I know that I also made a locker organizer thing that hung in my locker. If I remember correctly, though, I had to fix it at least once because the kids in my school cut the piece of Velcro that wrapped around the top vents of the locker. I don’t have many fond memories of my classmates…

Even though my mom sewed at home, it was nice to be able to tackle projects like these in Home Ec. Do they still offer Home Ec? Probably what they ought to do is teach kids how to do basic sewing tasks like sewing on buttons, hemming pants, or patching a hole. I think that those kinds of skills would serve everybody better. After all, how many people who had to make something in class could still sit down and use a sewing machine? There are times that I think it might do the community some good to hold a class like that at church where people of all ages can come and learn how to do that kind of thing. I suppose that you could say that they have YouTube for that now, but it’s still not the same as having somebody right there to show you exactly how to do something and give you practice.

Maybe if the younger generations could learn useful skills like sewing, basic carpentry, or even some cooking skills then they wouldn’t be bored and causing trouble. Put them in front of a sewing machine or behind a paint brush and give them something constructive to do! Now that I’ve solved the world’s problems I need to go take a nap… 😉